Shamarula
by RoadrunnerGER
Summary: When the gangs of CI and SVU are invited to spend Halloween at Stella and Mac's new house, a friendly board game takes on a life of its own and turns into a deadly puzzle. Will they all survive?
1. Halloween Party

**Shamarula**

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Don't own them, Dick Wolf's the lucky one. I just borrow them for a while to have some fun.

A/N: Hey, folks! This idea hit me while I was searching for Halloween recipes. LOL Have fun!

**1**

**Halloween party**

**One Police Plaza**

**Major Case Squad**

"So, tonight's the night," Alex said when she got up from her desk. "I'll see you at your friend's house, right?"

Bobby glanced up at her from his file.

"Yeah…" he replied, still in thoughts. "He'll pick you up?"

"Yes, he will." She glanced over at their colleague's new desk. He already was gone and so was his partner. "At least he said he would… and he'll regret it if he doesn't."

"Yeah… he shouldn't cross my path if he doesn't."

Alex chuckled.

"You're on protector mode tonight?" she teased.

Now he looked up at her. His brown eyes sparkled and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I always am… I… usually I hide it."

Alex's brows furrowed.

"I can defend myself."

"I know. Still it's my job to protect my partner." Bobby shrugged. "What did you decide on?"

"You mean my costume? That'll be a surprise, Sherlock."

Now it was his turn to frown.

"I definitely won't go as Sherlock Holmes, dear Dr. Watson."

"Call me _Watson_ again and you go searching for a new partner."

Incredulously he stared at her.

"You're still here?" Deakins scolded as he stopped at their desks on his way out. "We should be in time. The invitation said eight pm, so…"

"We'll be there," Alex assured him. "Don't worry."

"I'm heading right over there. I promised to help with dinner." Bobby smirked. "Who will you be tonight?" Bobby asked Deakins.

"Wait and see," Deakins smirked. "See you at the party."

"Yes, sir," Alex confirmed, then Deakins was gone.

"We should call it a day," Bobby suggested. "We can wrap this case up tomorrow."

"Okay."

Side by side they walked to the elevator.

xxx

**Queens**

"Hey, Dad! You look hot!"

That comment drove his blood into his cheeks.

"Are you sure you don't mind if I go? You could come with me!"

"I don't have a costume," Kathy laughed. "And what am I supposed to do among all those cops?"

"Have fun?" Elliot mused.

"I'll have fun handing out treats all night." She smiled at the two baskets on the kitchen table. "While our kids are all out of the house tonight."

Her seductive smile had its intended effect. He blushed and took her into a warm embrace.

"Nah…" she shook her head. "You'll go on to your party. We went to such trouble making that costume, so go."

She smirked at him and he returned it.

"I won't stay too late," he murmured and kissed her softly.

"We'll see," she teased. "Now go, or you'll be late."

He grinned, kissed her on the mouth and turned to leave.

"Wait, Dad!" Lizzie shouted, jumping up from the sofa.

"What is it, sweetie?" he asked, smiling at their youngest daughter.

"I wanna give you a kiss," she answered with a mischievous smile that made her eyes sparkle.

Elliot smiled. That did not happen too often anymore. Even Lizzie felt too big to be kissed goodbye by her father. But when he leaned over to breath a kiss on her forehead, she bent backwards.

"Here," she said, stretching out her right hand.

Perplexed, Elliot looked down. In her open palm lay a thimble. With thumb and index finger he took it and held it up to eye it curiously.

"Thank you, Wendy," he said, smirking.

"Don't fly too fast, Dad," she chuckled.

"And don't lose your shadow!" shouted Maureen from the easy chair, where she, a Vulcan in Star Fleet uniform, was cuddling with her Borg boyfriend.

"I'll be careful," Elliot replied and closed the front door behind him.

xxx

"I'm so glad that you helped me," Stella Bonasera declared when she poured the pumpkin soup into a big bowl. "Mac wanted to, but he had to go to court."

"I know, Stella. You're welcome. I love to cook."

Bobby stood at the stove of the modern kitchen Stella and Mac had in their new house and checked the other dishes.

"I hope he'll get home in time," Stella mumbled more to herself.

"He will be," Bobby assured her. "Don't you want to change? I'll keep an eye on the food."

"Thanks, Bobby," she said and favored him with a big smile before she left to change into her costume.

"Yeah, yeah…"

He was stirring in one of the pots when the doorbell rang. So he reduced the heat and went to open it.

"You're early!" he greeted Lindsay Munroe, a colleague of Stella at the crime lab. "And you're looking great! I almost wouldn't have recognized you. Who are you?"

"Thank you," she smiled and pressed a bag with three bottles of wine in his hands. "You're handsome, too, but you still have to change… or do you want to stay that way?"

"I will change," he chuckled. "Promise!"

"Oh, and I'm Bagheera."

"Bagheera? Wasn't that the black panther in The Jungle Book? I thought he was male?" he asked, helping her out of her jacket to hang it on the coatrack in the hall.

"In several adaptations she is female," Lindsay grinned. "I always liked her, even in the Disney movie where Bagheera's male."

"Okay, okay… you're Bagheera. Really great make-up," Bobby said.

"Good." She peeked into the kitchen. "Where's Stella?"

"Right there," her colleague shouted, "right there." Rushing down the stairs, her white tunic billowed.

"Wow!" Lindsay beamed at her attire. "That's great!"

"She's absolutely right, darling," Bobby agreed and breathed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Which goddess are you tonight?"

"Athena," Stella replied proudly.

"The goddess of wisdom and courage, and protector of the city," Bobby mused.

"Exactly."

Stella smirked, grabbed some cheese and hurried over into the living room. Lindsay followed her. They were just out of the kitchen when the bell rang again and Stella rushed to open the next guests.

"Hi," she greeted. "Wow! You're looking great!"

"That will be the phrase of the night, huh?" Captain Deakins replied. "Because I can only return the compliment."

"Thank you, Captain Hook! Come in!"

"Thank you..." he trailed off as he entered.

"Athena."

"That's perfect for you," Deakins smiled.

Stella did not have to close the door because the next two guests arrived just then. They came up the way to the front door side by side, making a little odd appearance.

"What have you done with your hair, Danny?" Stella queried and had to run her hand through the thick, dark, unruly curls. "Except for that… you look quite usual."

"You mean because of jeans and undershirt?" he chuckled. "I don't think so…!" he growled and stretched out one arm he had held slightly behind his back. Three big metal claws protruded from his fist.

"Ah! You're Wolverine!" she shrieked in mock fear. "And who are you?" she turned to the former coroner who was approaching now.

"I'm a hawk," Sheldon Hawkes grinned and spread his arms, his costume imitating rows of feathers.

"Great! Go in! The others are in the living room. I'll be right back."

While the two men went over there, Stella returned to the kitchen. She still was there when Mac came home.

"Hi," he greeted, poking his head in through the open door. "Smells wonderful."

"Wait until it's served," she teased and he vanished to go upstairs to change.

"Everything's done," Stella stated. "Why don't you go up, two? You'll need a bit for your costume."

"Yeeeaaah…" Checking on the oven once more he finally caved and left, encouraged also by Stella, who was swinging a dish towel at him. Ducking under it Bobby rushed out and up the stairs.

"Can I help you with anything?" Lindsay asked from the open door.

"You can get everyone their drinks," Stella replied.

"Oh, we already helped ourselves. Don't worry."

"In that case I don't need any help. Thank you, Lindsay."

"Bagheera… rooaar!" Playfully she pawed at her and shouted, "I'll go!" when the doorbell rang again.

When she opened she found an odd quartet on the threshold.

"Come on in!" Lindsay said and led the way to the living room where the three men and their female companion were greeted with cheers.

Don Cragen wore a long grey woolen coat and a pointy hat. What changed his appearance the most were the long white hair and beard, which were so typical for Gandalf the Grey.

Fin Tutuola's dark skin was ridged on the forehead, his hair long and his features adorned with a thick and long beard. He wore an uncomfortable looking suite made of leather and fabric with metal plates. In one hand he held a big blade, curved, with four tips, the back rounded. It was a bat'leth, the sword of a Klingon warrior.

"Don't tell me that's sharp!" Hawkes gasped.

"Nah…" Fin waved him off. "Just plastics."

In his wake followed John Munch, dressed in solid shoes, a checked shirt and denim overalls, straw sticking out of the legs and the sleeves, and a big straw hat on his head.

"Scarecrow!" Danny laughed. "The one from Wizard of Oz or the villain from Batman?"

"No idea," John chuckled. "Tell me more about Batman."

So his attention was averted from his girlfriend.

Alex Cabot stood for a moment under the door, surveying the guests. Her perfectly molded body was played off by a dark blue, shimmering catsuit. Her blond hair was pinned up in a single roll and a thin metal belt rested on her hips. An item that looked like a cell phone was attached to it.

But the eye-catcher per se were two cybernetic implants. One was next to her right ear and the other right above her left eye.

"Be welcome here on earth," Danny said, "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One."

Alex grinned.

tbc…


	2. Shamarula

**Shamarula**

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Don't own them, Dick Wolf's the lucky one. I just borrow them for a while to have some fun. Of course I don't own anything of the movie which inspired this story, either.

A/N: Okay! I won't let you starve (yet)! Here's chapter 2! Happy Halloween:D

**Ch 2**

**Shamarula**

"Soooo," Fin grumbled. "Now only our lead detectives are missing, right?"

"Yeah, all of them," Deakins confirmed.

"Mac's not here, either," Lindsay threw in.

"Ah ahh, black panther," Mac said. "I'm here."

Danny whistled. Another wow was heard.

Mac Taylor stood in front of them with the uniform of a samurai, the long sword in its sheath on the belt.

"That's not the one you used to have on the wall, is it?" Danny asked.

"Yes, it is." Mac grinned. "Don't worry. I won't get it out."

They were interrupted by the doorbell again.

"Okay, let's see who it is," Lindsay said and turned to the door but Stella had been faster. In her tow she had a black cloaked man with dark hair, his skin pale but the green eyes sparkling. When he opened the wide cloak he revealed a black suit.

"Hi, folks," Mike Logan greeted, exposing four long fangs. "Don't stare at _me_. They are the real lookers."

With that he stepped aside to make room for his partner, Carolyn Barek, who followed right behind him.

Her dark curls flooded down on her shoulders, interspersed with strings of pearls and leaves. There were shells in her hair, too, and the dress she wore was simply incredibly. It was a blue shimmering fabric that smoothed around her figure. The dress had a train that was formed like a fluke. It was a perfect copy of the dress Cher wore in the movie Mermaids. And that was exactly what Carolyn looked like… a mermaid.

The men whistled appreciatively.

But they all fell silent when Caro stepped aside to let Alex in.

The first thing they all noticed was not her robe, even though that was spectacular… it was her hair. It was not blond but black and built up on her head like a modern sculpture.

"How did you get into the car?" Alex, Seven of Nine, asked incredulously.

"Sideways," Alex replied. "And I had to duck during the drive. But it's great, right?"

"It's cool!" Mike said. "I could bite right into your pretty neck."

"Keep dreaming, count Mikey," she teased.

"I will, Your Highness, Queen Amidala," Mike chuckled.

Stella had not moment's peace because she was running to the door once more. The two detectives coming in right now were the last of the special victims unit gang. Elliot was right behind Olivia, his green suit adorned with leaves and leather ornaments. On his head sat an equally green hat with a single long feather and on his broad belt was a sheath with the corresponding sword. Grinning mischievously Peter Pan searched for a place and dropped down next to Fin on the sofa.

"Hey, Worf," he said teasingly and Fin grumbled a greeting in return.

"The ladies are the stars of the night, really." Munch beamed at Olivia who wore a simple, short, off-the-shoulder, green leather dress that only came to mid-thigh and had a fringed hem. Her green slippers sported big pearls and on her back sat two pairs of transparent blue fairy wings.

"As your partner's Peter Pan you're Tinkerbell, huh?" someone asked in a deep, growling voice, coming down the stairs.

Olivia gasped as she eyed the approaching man. He, too, wore a long cloak as Mike did, but his suit was different… and he wore a white mask that covered part of his face.

"Hello, Phantom of the Opera," she greeted. "Who's hiding there? Is that Bobby Goren?"

"Yeah, it is," teased Amidala. "He's the only one here standing six feet four."

The phantom grinned, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. Then he bent down to her.

"You're breathtaking," he whispered in his partner's ear. "I should have come as Anakin."

"I wouldn't have thought that you knew Star Wars so well," she replied.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he chuckled.

"Everyone!" shouted Stella. "The buffet is open. Please help yourselves!"

So they went into the kitchen where Stella had decorated the food on the big table in the middle… and stopped dead.

The obligatory pumpkin, hollowed out and with a candle flickering in it, stood on a second pumpkin and overlooked the whole buffet. On a large plate lay numerous sausages, broken in the middle. Decorated with almond chips as nails and ketchup as blood they looked like fingers torn off the body. Next to this plate stood a white bowl in the shape of a skull. The top was open and it was filled with a cream cheese based spread, making it look as if the brain was exposed. On the plate below lay the corresponding slices of bread and bread chips.

In a third pumpkin was the pumpkin soup and a big glass bowl was sitting right next to it. The liquid in it was of a dark red-brown shade and pieces of… something floating in it. They looked like bones… and a red hand was sticking out of it, reaching up for the guests.

"What's _that_?" Lindsay demanded to know, pointing at the bowl.

"That's sangria," Stella told her. "You don't recognize it?"

"You think that's edible?" Danny asked skeptically, eyeing the buffet. In the low light in the kitchen it was especially creepy.

"Oh yes, it is," said Mike and grabbed a plate to fill it with food. "These fingers look good as well as the fresh flesh here." He picked up a cracker with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

"Right," Bobby confirmed. As he helped with most of it, he know exactly what it was… as the hand sticking out of the sangria was out of strawberry juice, filled into a rubber glove and frozen. Now it served as single ice cube.

But there still was more. Another big plate, covered with lettuce leaves featured a whole bunch of coffins, sandwiches cut to the corresponding shape. Tacos filled with chopped green and red sweet pepper chops and meatballs with cheese and olive slices as eyes looked up at the detectives.

A cake with dark icing almost vanished in the twilight, except for the white spider's web on it. Black spiders were crawling all over the table between the other food.

A platter of big meatballs wore chili pepper wizard's hats, and a layered salad graveyard with cheese biscuits for headstones completed the buffet.

"Enjoy your meal," Stella cheered and grabbed a plate for herself.

xxx

A few hours later, it was close to midnight, the buffet was plundered. Music filled the living room and some of the detectives were dancing. Amidala enjoyed the closeness of the Phantom while the Mermaid was happy in the arms of her vampire. Hook was talking with Gandalf and Bagheera flirted with Wolverine while Seven of Nine and the scarecrow retreated into a corner where they were cuddling. Tinkerbell and Peter Pan watched them furtively. It would not take too long until the Borg and her brainless boyfriend would kiss.

"Okay!" Stella tried to get her guests' attention. "I'd like to show you something. Would you come over into the sitting room?"

So they followed her and surrounded the big round table there. Sometime in the last hour she obviously had cleared it of all the dishes. Now there sat the wooden board of a game. By the look of it they could tell that it was old.

"When we bought the house we found a wooden case in the attic and this was inside. I don't think that there are enough game stones, but I still think a game would be interesting. What do you think? Who wants to play a round?"

"What kind of game is it?" Elliot wanted to know.

There were fields carved into the board, the relief of a wide steppe with big trees in the background. In a spiral the fields led to a glass shield in the middle of the board.

"There also was a leather cup and a die in the case," Mac explained, "along with wooden game pieces." He put a smaller case on the table and opened it, presenting the markers. "Okay, let's see… one, two, three… there are sixteen tokens. Stella! I could swear there were no more than ten in it when we found the game."

"That can't be, Mac. Wooden pieces don't breed," she chuckled.

"Does it make a difference?" Olivia asked. "If there are sixteen men now, we all can play. What's it called?"

"Oh, it was carved on the lid of the case," Stella answered, turning to the case. "Shamarula."

"Sounds mysterious," Munch said. "I like mysterious. Let's play." Together with Alex he sat down at the table. Once they sat the rest of the SVU gang joined them.

"Well, we can't back out of that, huh?" Alex Amidala Eames said. "C'mon, guys."

"How do we play? I mean what are the rules?" Mike wanted to know.

"There was just a simple direction carved in the inside of the lid," Stella answered. "Follow the trail and overcome the trials on your way to Shamarula. As the trail starts on the outside, spiraling to the middle it must mean the glass."

"Okay."

They all settled down and each of them chose a game stone, placing it on the outer rim where the spiral began.

"So, who will start?" Stella asked them.

"Your discovery," Mac said. "You should have the honor."

"He's right," Cragen backed him up. "You start."

"Okay." She put the die into the cup and shook it before she let it roll on the board. It landed on the four. But before she could pick up her elephant shaped stone it moved as if by a ghost's hand four fields down the spiral. "What…?" she gasped.

In the middle of the board the glass began to glow red and words formed in it. It read, _Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters._

"That's sort of a riddle," Mac said. "But… how does that work? Is it some kind of display?"

"Don't think so," Stella said. "It's too old to have any kind of display."

"That's spooky," Alex Cabot threw in. "The stone moved by itself."

"Don't be silly," Danny replied. "There must be a magnet in there."

"And how did the _magnet_ know which stone Stella chose?"

"Hmmm…" That left Danny clueless for a moment. "It already stood close to the start."

"But the pieces are made of wood."

"They probably have bits of metal inside them."

"Funny," Munch grumbled. "And how did it know that it had to move four fields?"

No one had an answer on that question.

"Okay…" Stella mused. "It's a riddle, but the answer… hmmm." Thoughtfully she twirled a curl around her fingers. "The wind."

The glow under the glass changed from red to green and it read, _correct_.

"That's cool!" Carolyn said. "It's my turn now, right?"

"Yes."

So Caro took the cup with the die and shook it. When she turned it the die fell on the three. At once the horse-like stone she had chosen moved to field three of the spiral. The scientists of the crime lab eyed it suspiciously, but then everyone bowed forward to read what was shown under the glass now. In read letters it said, _You need to change into the clothes of your love. You have five minutes to change._

"Oh my. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Into the clothes of your love…" Mike was thinking hard.

"It could mean you, Mike," Bobby said.

"Huh?"

"Well, Caro loves you, right?"

Both detectives blushed. So far no one had known that they were a couple. At least they thought that no one knew.

"And the clothes? What does that mean? Shall we actually switch our clothes?" They stared at each other.

"That won't work! How should I fit into the mermaid dress? It won't survive that!"

"Four and a half minutes," Alex Eames interrupted them.

"You clocked the time?" Carolyn asked, stunned.

"No, it's in the glass."

They all looked at it. Really! The time was running backwards under the glass.

"Oh my!" Mike gasped. "And now?"

"Now you'll strip!" Carolyn told him.

"What?!" He was aghast. "You're not serious!"

But Carolyn was serious and already slipping out of her dress.

"I can't believe it!" Mike panted, but threw his cloak off. Then the suit followed and they exchanged their clothes. Miraculously the dress fitted over Mike's strong body. He looked quite peculiar once he was in the mermaid's costume while the vampire's suit seemed to shrink around Carolyn's smaller form.

"Now that's creepy," Elliot gasped. "Look!"

_Right in time,_ were the words in a bright shade of green that were floating under the glass. Then they changed to a whirl and formed new words, _Mike's turn_.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mike frowned deeply.

"That it's your turn," Bobby told him bluntly.

"But how does that thing know my name? That's damned spooky! I don't want to play that!" And he was about to leave, his hand already on the handle… but it did not move.

"Let me out!" he demanded. "C'mon, Stella! Open the door!"

"Sure, Mike." She did not look happy when she rushed over to him. "Sorry that you don't have a good time with the game."

"Game?" he snorted. "That's no game, that's… that's… I don't know what it is, but it's creepy. I don't want to do that!"

"It's just supposed to be fun," Stella said sadly. "Sorry."

She reached for the door handle but could not move it either.

"Huh? Why…?" Now Stella looked puzzled, too.

"Booohoooooo," made the scarecrow named Munch in a low spooky voice. "It's almost midnight, almost _wiiitching hooourrr_!"

As if it wanted to help him scare the others the lights flickered… and went out. Low thunder rolled and in the middle of the board the glass was glowing red with one word.

_Play!_

"C'mon, Mike," Carolyn tried to encourage her _merman, _"It won't kill you."

Grumbling Mike returned to his place at her side and grabbed the dice cup.

"I still don't like it!" he declared.

"Don't be a poor sport!" Fin growled, "and roll that die!"

So Mike puffed disgruntled and did as he was told. The die landed on the six. At once his game stone, a seahorse, moved over the fields, overtaking the elephant and horse of Stella and Carolyn. In the glass the red color formed new words, _I come at the end of time and at the start of eternity. I come four times in every week, but only once in a thousand years. What am I?_

"Ummm…" Mike rubbed his chin. "Bobby?"

The light in the glass intensified, sending rays through the whole room. When it faded again, the words _no help_ formed.

The players stared at it incredulously. How the game responded to them was more than just creepy. Mike thought hard about the riddle. He never had liked riddles, only the puzzles he was confronted with on his job. Finally he had a vague idea and he decided to try it.

"The letter E?" he said hesitantly.

Green letters announced, _correct_. Then this word morphed to _play again_.

"Oh, noooo!" Mike moaned while the light changed to red once more.

So he grabbed the cup and smashed it on the table. As before the die showed the six and the seahorse moved six fields ahead, the last two moves coinciding with the strikes of the big clock in the corner of the room. Bomm-bomm. The glowing red words that now appeared were mysterious. Bomm-bomm. _M__ove along and solve the tasks,_ bomm-bomm-bomm _and end the game or it will last_. Bomm-bomm-bomm-bomm-bomm.

With the last strike of the clock the reddish glow increased. Before it grew so bright that it blinded the people sitting around the table, they saw that all game stones moved to the field where Mike's seahorse was standing. The light seemed to stream right out of the glass and leave the game. Once the rays were gone it was absolutely dark in the room. A soft breeze sent chills down the cops' spines.

Then the lamps switched on again, but their light was only low. Somewhere drums were rumbling.

_Choose one player,_ appeared under the glass, the dark red letters glowing threateningly.

_Solve tasks,_ Mike thought and looked at the person he believed to be able to do that.

"Bobby," he rasped, his mouth suddenly gone dry. So he emptied his beer but it did not help for a second.

"Oh, thanks," his colleague mumbled, staring at the game where new directions appeared, _What sustains him you will give or he has not long to live._ "What the hell…" Bobby breathed. He looked at Mike who paled considerably. "Mike? You okay?"

"I need something to drink," Mike gasped. Before someone could offer him something he grabbed the glass of wine that belonged to Carolyn and downed the content. "More," he said, reaching out for the glass of Bobby.

"Sure," Bobby said and held it out for him.

The glass still was as good as full, but Mike gulped the beer down with just three big swallows.

"What's wrong, Mike?" Bobby asked when he saw the pained expression on his friend's face.

"My legs, they hurt so badly as does my back…" Mike panted miserably. "And I'm that damned thirsty." His features distorted. "Aaaaaaaahhh!" he wailed, clutching the table. "Uuuuugh!"

"Mike!" Carolyn shrieked, her panic obvious in her tone. She stared at his uncovered arms where scales were sprouting. "Mike! What's happening to you?!"

Instinctively she backed off from her screaming and squirming partner, repelled by the transformation he was going through. So were the others, stepping back from the table… and the mysterious game.

"Help me!" Mike cried out, trying to reach for another glass. But he knocked it over and Coke went splashing on the table.

Bobby was the first who overcame the initial shock and rushed to his friend's aid. "What sustains him you will give…" he muttered thoughtfully… just as Mike collapsed into his arms, unable to keep upright anymore.

Because his legs transformed into a fishtail, growing longer and longer until the fluke smacked helplessly on the floor.

"Wooooaaaaah!" screamed some of the women, the men gasped, but all stared at the odd couple.

"Someone help me!" Bobby shouted. "What sustains him! He needs water! We have to get him to the bathroom!"

Shaking off their rigor, Fin and Danny came to help him. They tried to grab Mike who was winding in their arms, reacting like a fish on dry land. Bobby was right. If he now was dependent on water that was where they had to take him.

"Someone open the faucet!" he yelled as they were fighting with the already weakening merman.

tbc…


	3. Bad Surprises

**Shamarula**

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Don't own them, Dick Wolf's the lucky one. I just borrow them for a while to have some fun. Of course I don't own anything of the movie which inspired this story, either.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :) Sorry it took so long. I knew it would take some time to finish ch3, but not that it would take _that_ long. Thank _MaryT_ who finally triggered the last scenes of this chapter. :D Thanks from me, though. ;) Enjoy.

**Ch 3**

**Bad surprises**

Finally being able to move again, Carolyn rushed to the door and out to the bathroom. Frantically she was turning the faucet and put the plug into the drain.

"Mike! We're getting you into the water," Bobby tried to soothe his friend. "Stop struggling! You're only making it more difficult!"

In his arms Mike was still fighting. As he was in panic, about to suffocate, he did not think straight. Bobby, Fin and Danny somehow squeezed through the bathroom door and struggled to lift Mike into the bathtub. It gave a big splash. Then all they could do was to wait.

Only half-conscious Mike hung in the bathtub.

"Oh, Mike," Carolyn sobbed and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as close as she could. "Mike? You hear me?"

"Yeah," he mumbled barely audible. "Wh…what happened?"

"The game… it transformed you!" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Transformed?" He sounded confused. When he opened his eyes and looked straight ahead his gaze fell on the fluke hanging over the bathtub's rim.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed. "Nooooooooooooo!"

So Carolyn pulled him closer to her chest, his head resting in the crook of her neck. He buried his face into the soft hollow, not having to see what he had become.

"Come, let's go back," Bobby whispered as he maneuvered Fin and Danny out of the bathroom. When they entered the sitting room again, the others looked at them expectantly.

"We should quit playing," Alex Cabot suggested. "That's not funny anymore."

"Well, we have a problem, doing that," Bobby said.

"What problem?" Fin asked.

"The game… it said, _M__ove along and solve the tasks_ _and end the game or it will last_.

"So?"

"If we quit playing now, Mike will remain a merman," he said so seriously that the others cringed back.

"But… what about us?" Lindsay wanted to know. She was scratching her head. Suddenly she jerked back her hand. "Ouch!"

She held up her hand and paled. Her fingernail was growing and became hooked. The tip was bloody from where she had scraped her skin.

"Aaahhh! Oh, my God! Oh, my Goooood!"

Frantically she brushed her hands over each other, but could not prevent that black fur was growing and her fingernails changing to claws. Then her screams turned into roars.

"Well, I guess that answers your question," Danny simply said and had to duck a swing of her paw. She hissed at him, baring her sharp fangs. "Okay, okay! That was a bad remark. Forget that I said it, okay?"

Once more Bagheera growled, her eyes sparkling, her fangs ready to grab him.

"Oh, c'mon!" Danny protested. "You wanna take it on with me?"

Unconsciously he went into defense, arms stretched forward and, with a distinct _snickt_ sound, his own claws slid out between his knuckles. Shocked Danny stared at them. Then he screamed.

"Oh oh," Bobby mumbled. Alex took refuge in his strong arms.

"What about Carolyn?" she asked. "If she'll turn into a vampire?"

"We have to assume that," he replied. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine," Alex croaked. "I was sitting next to Carolyn."

"But Mike chose me to play for him," Bobby said. "So I would guess that it's Elliot's turn."

They all looked at the SVU detective.

"You think so?" he asked and Bobby nodded. "Okay…" Reluctantly he grabbed the die and rolled it. His token, an eagle, moved the corresponding five fields forward.

_Quit or Continue_, the mist under the glass told him.

"No question," Olivia told him. "You quit. You have your family, your kids. You shouldn't take that risk!"

"Thanks, Liv," he replied, "but what kind of lesson would I teach my children by running out on my friends, huh? I'll play."

"Elliot!"

But the game had already reacted. Slowly the light formed new words, reading _Good choice…_

_Thank God,_ Elliot thought happily but instantly changed his mind when his feet left the floor. "Whoah! What the hell?"

He turned and twisted, trying to see what was happening to him, but he only succeeded in tilting himself upside down. "Hey! Guys? I could do with a little help here!"

"Oh, my God!" Olivia gasped, taking him by the heel and gently turning him upright. "You're Peter Pan."

"That's absurd!" Elliot argued.

"You're hovering, Elliot. How else would you explain it?"

"Aaahh… well, you know who _you_ are, right?" he replied, smirking at her.

She frowned, bowing forward to read the whole message on the game, "Good choice but not for you. Flee, fly, flew, cause someone's after you."

A bit unsteadily, Elliot leaned forward to read, too, and Olivia stabilized him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Ha!" Deakins _Hook_ shouted, shaking his hook threateningly. "I've got you now, Pan!"

Startled, Elliot jumped, and tipped himself upside down. _This really sucks_, he thought, and landed on his head with a thump.

"Ouch!"

When Deakins came around the table after him, brandishing his hook, Elliot got up and ran, but the room was too crowded. Unfortunately he ran right into _Bagheera_ who was roaring angrily. He jumped over her back and continued to run… just to see _Hook_ coming from the front.

"Happy thoughts, El!" Olivia shouted. "Happy thoughts!"

"Um… in case you haven't noticed… I'm kind of busy here!" he snapped at her as he drew his sword to fend off Captain Deakins' hook. "No time for happy thoughts!"

"You can get out, El!" she yelled. "Just think happy thoughts and you can fly! You're Peter Pan!"

Elliot's green slippers had little traction, and at that moment, his feet flew out from under him and he hit the floor again. With Deakins closing in on him, waving his dangerously sharpened hook, anything was worth a try. Thinking of his kids, he suddenly remembered Lizzie and how she gave him the thimble instead of a kiss before he left the house that night and all the love he felt for his children glowed inside of him.

The next thing he knew he was bumping against the high ceiling of the lovely old house, well out of reach of Captain Deakins and his horrid hook.

"Qapla'," yelled Fin, shaking his batleH.

"Um… well, I think it's your turn, Tinkerbell!" Elliot shouted down at his partner.

She took the die, rolled it and watched as her token, a hummingbird, moved six fields forward. _Roll again,_ the red light ordered her and she did it. Again the die showed a six and the hummingbird moved. _Once more,_ said the game and, swallowing hard, Olivia rolled a third time. A two. Bowing forward she looked into the glass to read.

"In many disguises evil comes. Beware of the trustworthy ones."

She had hardly finished reading when the door bell rang. In the same moment she gasped and slumped forward, clutching her middle. Then she cramped, stretching, trying to relieve the pain in her back… where the wings now were sitting between her shoulder blades. She started to flutter and was shrinking at the same time until she was not much bigger than a dragonfly.

"I knew it," Elliot, still hovering under the ceiling, rasped. "Will someone open the door?"

"I'll go," Stella said and headed for the hall. "Oh!"

They heard her shout and stared surprised at the man now at her side when she returned.

"Hello, Cassidy," Fin greeted him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just felt like dropping in," Cassidy replied cheerfully. "Nice party. Nice costumes."

"Great party," grumbled Alex _Seven of Nine_ Cabot.

The former SVU detectives smiled, but then it changed to a vicious grin. When they looked at him a second later, his teeth were growing as were four horns on his head. They rose out of his curly brown hair, ridged like the ones of an ibex. One pair also curled to form a roll on the sides of his head like a ram's horns.

His features were distorted when he was going for Alex Eames, his arms outstretched, his claws on the crooked hands deadly weapons. Alex screamed and backed off, ready to run, but Bobby stepped in the demon's way to protect his partner. His attempt to stop the transforming Cassidy was senseless.

Bobby was strong and his alter ego, the Phantom of the Opera, was strong, too, but it was nothing compared with the strength of the demon who now grew out of the chief's uniform, revealing a muscular, very hairy chest and a body partly covered with an exoskeleton.

It shoved Bobby to the side as if he would weigh nothing and advanced on Alex who screamed and grabbed for Mac's samurai sword. Swinging it from side to side, she tried to defend herself.

Bobby had crashed in the table and went down with its remnants, sending the game flying to the side. Now he lay unconscious on the floor.

Curiously the demon eyed the petit woman with the long shining sword. Then he sniffed and his head shot around. Craning his neck he searched the room and finally spotted who he was searching. Roaring with rage he started to chase the tiny fairy.

Olivia still had trouble to adjust to her new size and the wings sticking out her back. She could hardly coordinate her limbs and the shimmering wings. So she barely avoided his fist that threatened to smash her on the cupboard where she sat, trying to sort out which muscle moved the arms and which the wings.

Batting over and over again at Tinkerbell, the demon rapped several times on the cupboard, trashing it thoroughly.

"Whose turn is it?" yelled Elliot. "Someone roll the die! Someone help her!"

He flew over to the demon and kicked his head from behind, but only managed to hurt his feet on the horns.

"Aaaaahhh!" someone roared and Elliot saw a dark mass launch into the demon, swinging a curved, four-tipped blade. Fin _Worf_ managed to hit the demon's arm, but the batleH slid off of a bone of the exoskeleton.

"Magic!" yelled Alex _Amidala_. "Liv! You should be able to use magic!"

No one noticed that _Seven of Nine_ hesitantly approached the game board, lying on the floor, not far away from Bobby who still was unconscious. She was the one who had been sitting next to Olivia when they started to play and when she squatted down she noticed surprised that the tokens still stood on the board which was lying askew. In any case the wooden figures should have fallen off the board.

Behind her back now Danny _Wolverine_ rammed his claws into the demon's side. Purple blood splashed out all over him, but that did not stop him. They all could hear the high pitched squeals of the tiny fairy who jumped to the side once more. But there was no ground under her feet as the wood was broken under the impact of the demon's fist. She finally spread her wings and could find kind of balance in the air, avoiding the next blow by a hair's breadth.

"What about you, Stella?" Mac wanted to know. "You're Athena! A goddess!"

"I don't feel as if I'd have unusual powers," she replied, watching in horror as Fin and Danny were fighting for Olivia's life.

"And I don't think that you'll develop some," Cragen _Gandalf_ threw in. "It's a magical game, but it's still made by men, so it won't be able to turn you into a goddess."

"You think demons are perfectly normal?" Mac gasped.

"For this game, yes," _Gandalf_ said unagitated. "I'm curious to see what will come out next."

"Very funny," grumbled Alex _Amidala_ from where she now knelt next to Bobby, cradling his head in her lap. Her black hair was a mess, the strands flooding over her shoulders.

As if to answer _Gandalf's_ musing thunder was rolling and from one second to the other monsoon like rain was falling on the gathered players. The water was rising fast and soon Alex cried out, "Help us! I can't keep his head over water!"

_Gandalf_ and Mac rushed to her to help her support Bobby who was only slowly coming to.

"Where's the rain coming from?" gasped Stella. "It's raining inside the house! Dammit!"

"And if it's not flowing out somewhere soon we're going to drown," Alex choked. The water already reached her chest and as she was fighting with Bobby's weight she dipped into the warm flood.

"What happened?" Danny wanted to know.

The demon vanished in the water and Danny and Fin backed off. _Tinkerbell_ was nowhere to be seen. Mac looked around the room. In the heavy rainfall he could not see much, but it was enough to notice the fin of a big fish. The form was not unlike the one of a shark but serrated. The creature dove and pounded on the surface with its spiked fluke.

"What the hell?" whispered Stella.

"Where's my sword?" Mac wanted to know, searching for _Amidala_ who had grabbed it earlier to fend off the demon. "Where?!"

"Hold on! I'm coming," Fin shouted, fighting his way through the rising water, holding his batleH over his head. When the seamonster was approaching them he swung the weapon at it. With its fluke it splashed water into their faces. Spinning around it attacked again, making all of them scream when they were confronted with a long snout with razor sharp teeth.

And through the door to the living room Alex, who was treading water now, Bobby, Mac and _Gandalf_ could see more serrated fins cutting the water's surface.

tbc…


End file.
